Poetry Terms

The tools of poetry Meter: a poem’s rhythmical pattern, determined by the number of stresses, or beats, in each line. Rhythm: the pattern of beats, or stresses, in spoken or written language Rhyme Scheme: a regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem. Indicated by lowercase letters Each rhyme is assigned a different letter

Example of Rhyme Scheme: “Dark hills at evening in the west, a Where sunset hovers like a sound b Of golden horns that sang to rest a Old bones of warriors underground…” b We would refer to this as an “abab” rhyme scheme. Use a new letter for every new rhyme sound in a poem.

The tools of poetry Stanza: a formal division of lines in a poem, considered as a unit. Many poems are divided into stanzas that are separated by spaces. Stanzas often work like paragraphs Each stanza states and develops a single main idea

Stanza (continued) A 2-line stanza is called a couplet. A 4-line stanza is called a quatrain. A 6-line stanza is called a sestet. An 8-line stanza is called an octave. Refrain: a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song

Forms of Poetry Ballad: a songlike poem that tells a story, often dealing with adventure or romance. Often written in 4-6 line stanzas Have regular rhythms and rhyme schemes Often features a refrain

Forms of Poetry Lyric Poem: a short, highly musical poem that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker Epic Poem: a long poem that tells of the adventures of one or more great heroes. An epic is written in a dignified, formal style and often demonstrates the values that are important to a specific culture.

Forms of Poetry Haiku: a 3-line Japanese verse form. It has a 5-7-5 pattern, meaning the first and third lines have 5 syllables and the second line has seven syllables. Uses vivid images to create a single picture, generally of a scene from nature

Forms of Poetry Limerick: a short, humorous, narrative poem Has 5 lines, with an aabba rhyme scheme Has a specific rhythm The a lines match in length The b lines match in length, but are shorter than the a lines

Forms of Poetry Free Verse Poem: poetry not written in a regular rhythmic pattern, or meter. May contain lines of any length or with any number of beats. Blank Verse Poem: poetry written in unrhymed, iambic pentameter Most associated with Shakespeare’s plays.

Forms of Poetry Concrete Poem: a poem with a shape that suggests its subject. The poet arranges the letters, punctuation, and lines to create a picture on the page Found Poem: a poem built by taking words or phrases from another text, such as a book or newpaper article. To create, you may drop words from the original text, but you cannot add any words.